Generally, a computer game device which is capable of processing a game on a real time basis includes a game device body which utilizes pre-stored game software, a control unit which gives an operational signal used for processing which includes movement of a character in a game, a display which displays an image which expresses images in the development of a game contained in the game device body, and an acoustic unit which generates the necessary sound as the game proceeds.
Game devices having a clear display screen to providing a more realistic image are popular. Particularly, game devices which use polygon processing are popular as they are capable of expressing three-dimensional image data as a collection of given units providing high visual reality. In a game device using polygon processing, the number of polygons which constitutes an object (a displayed object movable on the display screen) is increased and the polygon surfaces are coated with a texture to thereby further enhance a realistic image.
As just described above, the demand for increasingly more realistic images requires that hardware should have an ability to reduce processing time as well as to process a greatly increased quantity of data on a real time basis, so that the load on the hardware is greatly increased. This demand is expected to continuously increase in the future, thereby increasing the operational load on the hardware.
First of all, the game device is required to perform real-time image processing on the basis of data input by the player, with the basic load on the central processing unit being essentially high compared to sole computer graphics image processing.
In addition, if a game device is composed of a plurality of expensive high-speed operation devices in order to ensure an overwhelming data processing ability such as is present in a flight simulator, the game device would be an expensive commodity and would not satisfy the needs of the market.
As such, conventional game devices must perform image display processing, whilst limiting the processing ability of its processor or the amount of its data capacity. Thus, the resulting image would give insufficient reality to viewers.
In view of the problems with the conventional techniques, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing method and apparatus which is capable of reducing the image processing load and displaying an image having greater reality.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an image processing method and apparatus which is capable of reducing the image processing load of an object to be displayed in order to thereby display an image having greater reality.